tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post4364963795909913848..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: What I learned from dystopian fictionSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-7385058976674827212012-11-04T11:01:40.118-05:002012-11-04T11:01:40.118-05:00I don't mind at all!I don't mind at all!Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-41770175459323297392012-11-01T03:49:25.652-04:002012-11-01T03:49:25.652-04:00+JMJ+
Sheila, I hope you don't mind my leavi...+JMJ+ <br /><br />Sheila, I hope you don't mind my leaving links in your combox. (And if you do, I won't mind if you delete this!) But I immediately thought of your request for Dystopian novel recommendations when I saw <a href="http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2012/11/dystopian-giveaway-hop-eve-third-or.html" rel="nofollow">this giveaway hop</a>. Whether you enter to win some books or just look for titles that may be interesting, I'm sure you'll find it informative! Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-32042164180395057272012-10-21T10:03:10.576-04:002012-10-21T10:03:10.576-04:00Anodos, I guess I'd have to read those, but yo...Anodos, I guess I'd have to read those, but you're right about the question: WOULD that really be a dystopia? Now, mind you, I am not an anarcho-capitalist. I worry that without the government as an arbiter to prevent fraud and manipulation by some against others (particularly by corporations against individuals), you'd end up with less liberty than you started out with.<br /><br />And that's the issue, isn't it, Enbrethiliel ... how CAN you have a completely free society? Won't some people try to oppress others? Unless, of course, everyone thinks the same. I guess that would a cure, but not very realistic! I'd like to read that book though.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-22416503903670617392012-10-20T22:04:01.473-04:002012-10-20T22:04:01.473-04:00+JMJ+
I came over merely to pass on a friend'...+JMJ+ <br /><br />I came over merely to pass on a friend's recommendation, <i>The Dispossessed</i> by Ursula LeGuin, and to hint that Veronica Roth's <i>Divergent</i> trilogy (YA Dystopia) might be worth checking out, too . . . but now that "we" seem to be discussing Libertarian dystopias, I find that I have something else to say! =) <br /><br />What came to mind immediately was <i>The Probability Broach</i> by L. Neil Smith. It's actually a Libertarian <i>utopia</i>: a parallel universe in which an unfettered free market has made the world a happier place to live. I bring it up because although I like the parallel US history of Smith's world (Washington is shot for treason, Jefferson abolishes slavery, Lincoln assassinates Booth--LOL!), it has always seemed like a dystopia to me. It's one big paradise of political and individual liberty, but the catch is that everyone thinks in lockstep anyway. (Well, except for the villains . . .) I guess it's that dogmatic acceptance of any political ideology that makes a dystopia to me. Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-66262604470350018362012-10-19T12:24:59.270-04:002012-10-19T12:24:59.270-04:00"I am not sure you could manage a libertarian..."I am not sure you could manage a libertarian dystopia, since after all freedom is the one thing you can't allow in a dystopia."<br /><br />Ah, you should have been more confident in the universal. Science fiction and "cyberpunk" seem pretty interested in exploring libertarianism / anarcho-capitalism, pushed to an extreme. I've read... hm, soem Heinlein, and also Stephenson. <br /><br />Now, some of these are dystopian, and some are more utopian, depending on whom you ask. (Oh, or you could check out Freedom (tm) (the "tm" is part of the name) by Suarez... which is a sequel to Daemon, by the same. I'm not sure if these are the best instances of anarcho-capitalism, though, as part of the two books involves the (violent and forceful) destruction of the prior world, and the later world isn't... exactly anarcho-capitalist.)<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism actually gives a small list in the fiction section.<br /><br />I like dystopias as well, though. Fun stuff.Anodoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03812243641553262369noreply@blogger.com